bake and pray

Well. Color me surprised!

I was pretty certain I would be both uninterested in baking, and unable to bake bread. (I had the praying part down.)

Yet…

We were greeted by the leader upon our arrival, filled out a name tag, and found a seat at a place along the tables. It was fun to meet other attendees, especially one of whom I knew from ministry work in Atlanta.

Over two days, we learned about the art of baking, the mentions of bread throughout the Bible, and bread as a main feature in Christianity.

Along the way we sang songs.

And rested.

As did the bread overnight.

Our lodging, included breakfast and dinner, and was just down the road

at the Mast Farm Inn.

The second day we sang more songs, and heard how bread was present throughout Christianity, and its place in our lives.

We also gained more bread baking techniques, and next steps. We formed our dough for a second rise.

We had the afternoon off so we drove about thirty minutes to Boone. We found exceptional food and coffee at Hatchet.

The drive was lovely.

Later in the day, our loaves would be baked.

In went twenty-nine loaves!

And out they came! Beautiful!

I loved the bread baking retreat! It turned out I learned how to bake bread, and it was delicious!

More importantly, I loved gathering with so many wonderful people. Twenty-nine individuals learned to bake bread, from novices to well skilled. The conversations were rich, deep, enjoyable, and delightful.